Hidden Love
by LoveLifesMiracles
Summary: Esmeralda and Eli have been friends since they were four years old, now that they're older, they can understand the true meaning of friendship and the unexpected... falling in love.
1. Chapter 1: Back In Town

**Well Hello everyone :D This is my first Degrassi FanFic and I'm sooo excited for it! I've been meaning to do an Eli story bc i just love his character so much and i wanted to do something different for all you Eli fans out there :) well i hope you all enjoy it!**

**Oh and to those that have already read it, i rewrote it bc i had some stuff that wasnt right and i wasn't fully concentrated while writing it bc a lot was on my mind :/**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: Back In Town<strong>

Esmeralda Dauex walks through the halls of Degrassi, lost and confused with where to go. Students walk pass her, knowing where to go, obviously. They already know where to go because this was their school. It was her first day at Degrassi, and with the uniform, people she feels like she can't relate to, she didn't think she was going to fit in, but then again, she could honestly care less about that. She was only at Degrassi for one purpose and that was to be with her best friend of twelve years who was going through hardship during his spring break. She searches the halls, though noticing a dark haired boy with light green eyes that can make you loose your focus, she spots her best friend, Eli Goldsworthy.

As Esmeralda walks out the doors and down the stairs, she freezes when she comes face to face with a cast on Eli's right leg and supporting himself with a skull headed cane. She felt her mouth drop but closes it right away before Eli could see her expression and try not to worry him. She arches her eyebrow and smiles when Eli finally looks up from looking miserably down at the floor.

Eli comes across the most beautiful light chocolate brown eyes he's ever seen, already knowing who's they were. He smiled the most sincere smile he has in ages and limps towards the only person who understands his problems and all that he's been through, because they've been through it together. He stops in front of Esmeralda, and leans on his cane, smirking.

"Why isn't it the lovely, yet dark Esmeralda Dauex. What brings you to this hell hole called Degrassi?" Eli asks, playing coy. Esmeralda just shakes her head, "Well when I got the call that you had crashed Morty and you got your heart broken, I couldn't sit around anymore! You had me worried sick, Elijah." Eli slightly winces when he heard his full name being said, but he got over it because Esmeralda was the only to ever call him that, besides his parents.

"It wasn't my fault…" Eli lets out angrily, looking down at the pavement and then back up, with tears forming in the corner of his eyes. Esmeralda lets out a sigh. She grabs Eli's head and puts it on her shoulder, as they embrace when he wraps his arms around her waist, not caring that everyone watching. After a minute of hugging and a few tears were shed, Eli pulls away and wipes his eyes, looking back at Esmeralda, smiling once again.

"You don't know how good it is to see you Es. I really needed something like you popping up here to make me feel a bit better." Eli fixes his backpack to where it was comfortable for him to handle it. Esmeralda grins, "Anytime twin. I am always here to surprise you when you least expect it." She says while helping Eli up the stairs and into the hallway. "So where are you staying since you're apparently coming to my school now?" He asks curiously, knowing that Esmeralda was on her own, every since her parents died when she was four.

Esmeralda pulls out a flyer of a condo, close to the school, and was on sale. Cheap rent and modern furniture. Eli, to his liking, nods at the picture on the ad. "It was all I could find. And I called to see how cheap the rent was and the people said that they were just trying to get rid of the place for months but no one wanted to buy. The public thought it was to good to be true, so probably that's why no one wanted to rent it. The rent is $450! Do you have any idea how cheap that is? I would not mind living here the rest of my life." She says satisfied with her choice of place to stay at.

Eli nods his head, "Well I don't blame you. So you're still saving up your money? What are you doing now? Still singing? Acting? Blogging?" he asks, limping down the hall while Esmeralda holds onto his arm to support him. "Well yea. I mean come on Eli, who's going to hire me with the way I dress and how my hair is?" He turns to see her hair, it was a blood red. "You dyed it again? That's like what, your fifth color already? You look like a slutty little mermaid."

Esmeralda laughs, "Well, I take that as a compliment. I got tired of the other color and it really go to well with my skin tone." Eli once more looks at her and sees her fairly light brown toned skin, contrasting with her red hair. It complimented her entire look. He also notices a wolf head shaped ring on her thumb, he couldn't help but smile as big as he could. "You still have it." He states, shaking his head in disbelief.

Esmeralda looks down at her hand and smiles as well, "Of course I do Eli."

"I honestly thought you threw it away after our fight four years ago. What made you decide to keep it?" Eli asks, still a bit surprised. Esmeralda shrugs, "I guess because you're my best friend Elijah. Even though that fight was the worst one we've ever had, I still forgave you. Besides, this is my prized possession from you. I'm way too attached to this ring."

"Wow," was all Eli could say. Then the bell interrupted. Esmeralda's eyes widen, "Oh geez, I'm lost. Please help me Eli?" she begs a little. "Of course I'll help you! You don't have act like a dog and pout your lips like that. What class do you have first?" Esmeralda checks her schedule, "I have Math. Why the hell do I have math in the morning?" she groans.

Eli rolls his eyes, "How old are you? Ten? Your class is right next to mine. Good, maybe you can help me when its over. You wouldn't mind…." He trails off, looking past Esmeralda, with a grim look on his face. Esmeralda looks at him confusingly but turns back to see who he was looking at. She came across a honey brown short curly haired girl with an oversized flower headband, starring at Eli.

"Clare Edwards, how are you?" Eli asks, trying to hide his emotions mustering up inside of him. Clare clears her throat, "Fine. I'm fine. How's your….. leg?" she asks, sounding a bit concerned. "You know its just, there." he says plainly. "Right…" Clare realizes Esmeralda next to Eli, and just gives her a small, slightly noticeable smile. "I should be heading to class." She then takes off.

"Wow, that was Clare? Really? She's… pretty." Esmeralda stares oddly at her. "Can we please just get inside the classroom please?" Eli demands, sounding irritated. "Of course. Come on. I don't want to be late at my first day here at Degrassi High." She holds onto Eli's arm and helps him inside his classroom, before she headed to hers.

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><p><strong>Please Review! I will very much appreciate it :) thank you!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2: The Fight

**Hey everyone this is chapter 2 already, hope you all are enjoying it so far bc i'm really doing my best to make you all enjoy it! :)**

**I dont own any of the Degrassi characters, only mine!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: The Fight<strong>

Lunch came around after Esmeralda's third class, and she couldn't wait to eat. So far she was sort of having an all right time at Degrassi. No drama yet, which was good because Eli had told her last year, that's what the school is about. She walks to the cafeteria, observing her surroundings; she then notices Eli sitting by a window. She shakes her head, probably knowing what he was doing.

"Hey." Esmeralda says aloud while heading to him. Eli slightly picks his head up, giving her a not so convincing smile. She stops in front of him, "Whatcha doing?" she questions curiously. He shrugs, "As you can tell. Nothing." He points out sarcastically. "Tell me something I don't already know. Tell me what you're really doing." He looks up at her with no expression on his face.

"What are you talking about? I'm not doing anything Esmer." Eli looks away; he looks outside, watching the cars pass by. Esmeralda rolls her eyes and takes a seat right next to him, "You think I don't know you Elijah Goldsworthy, but I know you better than you know yourself. You're moping and thinking about something. Your thinking about Clare, are you? Or are you thinking about Julia?"

Eli clenches his fist; his anger about to burst out. "You know what Esmeralda, why don't you go back to California! Just go back and leave me alone! I've been fine without you always in my damn business! Just leave me alone!" he screams angrily at her, not caring who was around to hear. Esmeralda's jaw locked, feeling a bit embarrassed from the scene he caused. "Ok well if that's how you feel. I'll leave tomorrow. You know, I'm probably the worst friend in the world, because I care too much for my best friend. What was I thinking about coming back home? Stupid me. But hey, you can get over it on your own, you've always have."

Esmeralda gives Eli a last mocking smile and leaves him alone. Eli breathes in and out heavily, not believing he just blew up like that to his best friend. He was surprised that she didn't yell back. By now they would've gone head on into the argument, but she just walked away. He shifts his eyes to all the people that were starring at him, some horrified, some shocked. "Perfect." He says sarcastically once more, as he gets up and limps to find his best friend.

"Hey Eli." Someone shouts out behind him. Eli turns back and sees Adam. "Hey." Was all Eli says and continues limping to find Esmeralda. "What happened back in the cafeteria? Are you ok? Who were you yelling at?" Adam asks continuously. Eli stops and looks at him, "Can we talk later? I'm sort of busy right now." Adam nods, "Yea dude, but you'll tell me later?" he nods, "Yes I will."

Eli continues looking for Esmeralda but couldn't find her anywhere. Then he remembers, the condo. He heads outside the school and whistles for a cab. Once the cab got there, he enters and tells the driver where to go. Hopefully she was still there by the time he got there.

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><p>Esmeralda sits down on her neon green couch, while drinking the coffee she made. She was pretty proud of herself for keeping her cool when Eli blew up on her like he did. She remembered their last fight that actually made her move to California four years ago. Although she was twelve at the time, she had connections to go on the plane by herself. She could still remember the fight if it was yesterday.<p>

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><p>"<em>Eli this is what happens when you get too attached to a girl. Once they break up with you, you go into this weird moody, lonely phase. Can't you just get over the break-up?" Esmeralda asks Eli while he was sitting on his bed, starring at a picture of a girl that broke his heart a few days ago. He crumbles the picture in his hands, "No I will not. And will you stop telling me what to do! I'm old enough to do what I wanna do!" he screams angrily at her.<em>

_Esmeralda clenches her teeth, "Well obviously not! Look at you! It's only been three days and you've been locked up in your stupid room since then!" She yells back. Eli gets off his bed and starts getting in her face, "You know what Esmeralda, I don't need your help! So why don't you go run off to your parents! Oh that's right, you don't have any because they died when you were just four years old!" He snarls at her, looking down at her to seem more intimidating._

_Esmeralda's eyebrow twitched, "Oh so you're gonna go there, eh? Well you know what, you always been a shitty friend from the beginning! Always down and never looking at the Brightside of things. But what can I expect from a boy whose parents let him call them by their first names and lets him do whatever he wants. You have _NO _discipline what so ever. At least I do things the right way, and that says a lot because I've been raising myself." She gives Eli a nasty look to make him back off._

_Eli snorts, "Just get the hell out of my room." He commands with rage. "I'll do more than that, Eli. I'll get out of your life." Esmeralda walks out of his room, slamming the door right behind her._

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><p>Esmeralda shudders from the memory, not believing they said those ugly things to each other. She takes a sip from her coffee but while doing so she heard her doorbell ring. She places her coffee on top of the coffee table and walks to the door, first checking who it was. She looks through the peephole and sees Eli. Her eyes widen as she rapidly opens the door. "What the hell Eli? You're supposed to be in school right now."<p>

Eli picks his hands up to in front of his chest, "Oh well. May I come in?" he asks, pouting his lips a bit. Esmeralda laughs, "What are you ten? Come on in." He smirks his usual smirk and limps inside. She closes the door behind him and crosses her arms in front of her chest. He sits down the couch, still holding onto his cane. He looks up at her and smiles, "Nice place you got here." She cocks her eyebrow, "Are you ok? Did you turn bi-polar on me now? You were just screaming and yelling at me like not even an hour ago."

Eli sighs, "I know and I'm sorry for doing so. I'm surprised that you walked away so calmly and not yelling back." Esmeralda leans up on the door, "Well… I've been taking anger management classes in California." Eli's eyes widen, "Are you serious? How come I'm barely finding this out right now?" he questions, starting to sound a bit upset.

"Well, I didn't want you to worry. I wanted to do it on my own and you know how we get when we talk on the phone sometimes. We argue a lot, and you can't deny that." Esmeralda points out, while Eli bites the inside of his bottom lip. "For how long have been going to these classes?" She sighs, "My last session finished before I came back. I was planning on telling you."

There was a short silence in the room. Eli breathes out slowly, "Well as long as your better right?" he looks back at Esmeralda, who smiles happily at him while walking to sit next to him. "Well you witnessed it. So I must be better." Eli lets out a laugh, "Yea that's true." He keeps looking at her, "I'm happy you're here Esmer. I've missed my best friend." He places his hand on her knee.

Esmeralda smiles once more, placing her hand on top of his. "I've missed you too. But I'm here now!" she shouts enthusiastically. Eli covers his ear that was yelled in. "You've really gotten loud haven't you?" She lightly hits his shoulder, "Oh shut up. Well since you're here, you want anything to eat? I can cook something up if you like?"

"What about school?" Eli asks sounding concerned, looking at Esmeralda when she headed into her kitchen. She shrugs, "We can go back tomorrow. Your dad won't care will he?" Eli thought about it, "Nah, not really. Not when I tell him you're here." She grins while gathering all the ingredients she's going to make the food with.

"Awesome. Guess we have the afternoon to ourselves." She says excitedly. Eli smiles at her a smile she hasn't seen in a long time, "I really am happy you're here Esmeralda." Esmeralda moves her eyes to meet his, smiling, "Me too Elijah. Me too."

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><p><strong>Please Review! I will very much appreciate it :) thank you!<strong>


	3. Chapter 3: Above The Dot

**Hey everyone, hope you all are enjoying this! I'm trying to make it, not entirely similar to season 11 of Degrassi, but somewhat so it can help me a little with my story. Though most of the time i'm going to be making it for the most part. Rewrote this one a little but not that much, hope your enjoying it! :D**

**I dont own any of the Degrassi characters, only mine!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 3: Above The Dot<strong>

"Did you enjoy lunch?" Esmeralda asks, while picking Eli's empty plate from him. Eli burps and rubs his stomach, "Does that answer your question?" She rolls her eyes and chuckles a little. "Yes it does, thank you very much." She places the dishes in the sink, deciding to clean them later. She wipes her hands with a paper towel heading to her chair to sit back down with Eli who was looking around the place.

"I'm still fixing it up. Maybe when your leg gets better we can go antique shopping?" Esmeralda suggest, while taking a sip from her water. Eli nods his head in agreement, "That sounds like a date." He then pouts his lips and makes kissing faces at her. She laughs and pushes his face away from her. "Well looks like your doing better."

Eli laughs a small laugh, "Well these are helping me." He reaches inside his coat pocket and takes out an orange pill bottle, placing them on the table in front of Esmeralda. Esmeralda looks at Eli confused. She grabs the bottle and reads what the description says. "Intake 3 a day with water, only when feeling anxious. These are anti-anxiety pills. Why are you taking these?" she asks, worrying about him now.

Eli grabs the bottle from her hands and just stares at them, "The doctor said that I needed to relax so he gave me these for it. So whenever I'm starting to get worked up or feeling anxious, obviously, I just take one. I took one before heading here." He puts the pills back inside his coat. Esmeralda shakes her head, "Oh Eli. Till how long do you have to keep taking them?" she asks, sounding concerned now.

"Till I get better. I don't know when that will be though." He sighs tiredly, leaning back on the chair. Esmeralda looks at her watch and realizes that it was 4 o'clock already. School was out. She also notices that she was still wearing the uniform, she knew she had to change. "Um, will you excuse me Eli for one moment please? I just realized that we're still in the school uniform and I really want to go change."

"No problem. Change away." Eli moves his arm, telling her to go ahead. Esmeralda smiles and heads to her room. She searches throughout her closet, trying to find a nice outfit to wear. She then spots her cream colored laced up boots that reaches to her ankle, along with her denim shorts, a loose white tank and her green military jacket that she bought back in California. She changes out of uniform and puts on the clothes she's chosen. When she finishes, she looks at herself in the mirror, seeing an average 140 lb, 5'4 girl with lightly tanned skin and red hair.

Esmeralda used to feel uncomfortable wearing shorts or anything that reviled her skin but when Eli used to be a positive influence, he would always tell her that she looked beautiful. That was when they were ten years old, now it's different. She felt beautiful in her own skin now, because of Eli. She puts on a little bit of make-up and fixes her hair up in a ponytail. She then puts on some nude lipstick and teases her bangs a little so they can look slightly big. She looks at herself once more and was satisfied.

"Ok I'm done." Esmeralda shouts out to Eli, as she walks out of her room to meet with Eli, but seeing that he was exploring the condo. She sees him looking at a picture of her parents she has on her bookshelf. There were at least twenty picture frames on the bookshelf, and each one either had Eli, her parents, and her and Eli when they were younger. She smiles, strolling to stand next to him.

Eli examines the pictures, smiling to some yet frowning at the same time. He picks up a picture of Esmeralda's parents when they were teenagers and shows it to her. "You know, you have your mother's smile and your dad's facial expressions." She was caught a bit off guard when he said "facial expressions".

"What do you mean by facial expressions? How do you know that?" she asks curiously. Eli smirks and points to the other pictures of her parents. "You see that look right there," he points to a photo of Esmeralda's dad looking confused. "That's the look you give when you're completely clueless with what's going on, or when I'm trying to explain something. And then that one," he points at another of her dad with his eyes wide open as if he's seen a ghost. "You make that face when you hears bad news or when your blogging, just to act silly."

Esmeralda nods her head, impressed with Eli's observation. "Impressive Eli. I never would've guessed that I had my dad's facial expressions." She grabs a hold of the frame, looking at it, feeling sadness come across her. Eli stops paying attention to the photo's and notices Esmeralda about to cry. He wraps his arm around her and brings her closer to his chest.

"Hey, don't get gloomy and sad. Come on hot stuff, lets head out. You need a recap of what's been going on here since you've been gone." Eli jokes, trying to cheer Esmeralda up. Esmeralda rolls her eyes, "You're right. What was that place you were talking about earlier? Above The Dot?"

"Ohh yea, do you want to go there? I can call my friend up and we can meet him there. If you don't mind." Eli insists, pulling his phone out of his pocket, dialing his friends number. "Hey Adam, wanna hang out tonight at Above The Dot? Sure, meet you there." he hangs up and looks back at Esmeralda who left to get her phone and wallet. He notices that she was wearing an attire that she never used to wear before. He took a real good look at her, realizing that she really had grown up since the last time he saw her.

Eli felt like he was violating her privacy by just starring at her, so he looks away, and starts heading to the door. "Ok, I'm ready. I'll drive." She brings her keys out and dangles it in front of Eli's face, smiling her usual natural smile that Eli loved. "Well after you madam." He opens the door and lets Esmeralda walk out first. "Why thank you sir. Aren't you the gentlemen." She says playfully when she walks outside, waiting for Eli to get out as well so she could lock her door.

"Which one is your car?" Eli asks, searching in the parking lot, trying to figure out which car could be Esmeralda's. Esmeralda presses the button on her key, locating where her car was. Eli hears the beep and sees a black Volkswagen Eos in front of his eyes. His jaw drops, "How the hell did you afford this?" he asks out of astonishment. Esmeralda laughs aloud, "I won it in a contest a few months ago. I figured, what the hell, I needed a car anyways. So I entered and got it."

Esmeralda opens the door and turns her car on. Eli enters as well, admiring the interior of the car. "Buckle up. I don't want you to fly out of the car if we wreck." She buckles herself up before starting up the car. Eli does the same and closes the door next to him. "Do you want air conditioner or natures weather?" she asks, which made Eli raise his eyebrow with a slight confusion. "I guess, natures weather?"

Esmeralda smirks, "If you say so." She presses a button above her that made the roof move back, to reveal the sun beating down on the both of them. Eli bobs his head, looking at roof move backwards; to his liking he places his arms in the back of his head, just enjoying the weather. "Well I can tell you like it." She jokes, as she pulls out of her parking space and heads to Above The Dot.

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><p>As they were driving, Esmeralda started feeling lost when she couldn't remember what street to turn on. "Uh Eli, where exactly is this place again?" Eli faces her but then back at where they were. "Oh you're going to turn onto this street right here and after we pass the light, you're going to turn right and the parking will be there right when you turn in." He points to his left and Esmeralda follows his instructions.<p>

By the time they knew it, they were parking and getting out of the car. Esmeralda hurries to Eli's aid, because she could tell he was struggling with getting around lately with his leg. Once Eli got out she closes his door and helps him up the set of stairs, leading to the hang out. "Are you sure this was a good idea Eli? I mean you do have a five pound cast dragging you down."

Eli pushes himself up onto the last set of steps and breathes out hard. "Don't worry, I'm fine Esmer." He tries to reassure Esmeralda, trying not to make her worry. Esmeralda looks at him, not believing what he was telling her. They both enter the club and right away it got dark with barely any lighting around. She follows Eli because she has no idea where she was going.

Eli spots Adam by the pool table and decides to join him, pulling on Esmeralda's arm to follow him. She follows along, trying to see where he was taking her. They arrive at the pool table and see Adam playing with another person. Esmeralda, didn't know who he was, but didn't hesitate to introduce herself once Eli shows him who she was. "Hey Adam, I've brought company." Eli pulls Esmeralda in front of Adam.

"Esmeralda, this is my good friend Adam Torres." Eli introduces Adam who was wearing a blue plaid shirt underneath a black jacket, with some regular jeans. He smiles a really sweet smile, similar to a girls smile, while extending his hand out so Esmeralda could shake it. She reaches it and shakes his hand, smiling back, "Hi Adam, I'm Esmeralda Dauex." Adams eyebrows rose, "Dauex? That's French right?" he asks curiously.

Esmeralda nods her head, "Yes it is actually. I think I'm also a third Spanish. Which is where my name Esmeralda comes from. So I'm French Canadian and Spanish." Adams looks at her amazed, "Wow that's pretty neat actually. Have you always lived here?" she shakes her head, "Well I did up until I was twelve. I moved to California with some family for four years and decided to come back after what I heard happened to my best friend over here." She places her arm around Eli who was looking away from them.

"You know Eli? For how long?" Adam asks out of interest. Esmeralda moves her arm from Eli and places it on the back of her head, "For twelve years now. Going to be thirteen in a few weeks." She leans up on the pool table, continually talking to Adam; though keeping a close eye on Eli. She then notices Eli's ex, Clare, walking towards him.

"Eli, can we talk?" Clare asks eagerly. Eli shakes his head. "Not right now." He starts to turn around until she kept talking, "Please. We can't avoid each other forever. Just two minutes." He turns back and sighs, "Go ahead. How was your first day of school?" Clare shakes her head angrily. "That's not what I'm talking about."

"I really don't know what you want me to say." Eli replies plainly to her. "Just tell me the truth." Eli keeps looking at her, "I'm in a new place. Can I go?" he then walks away from her. "Did three months mean nothing to you? It took you a year! A year to get over your ex!" Clare shouts at the top of her lungs, upset and angry. Esmeralda watches the scene as Eli stops when she heard Clare bring up him getting over Julia. Then Clare was dragged out of the club by some guy that was playing pool with Adam before they got there.

Eli sits down at a table and ignores everybody starring at him. Esmeralda walks over to him, placing her hand on his shoulder, "Are you ok?" she questions, concerned over the situation he was in moments ago. She takes a seat next to him so she could see his face. "Yea, I'll be fine." Was all he says. Esmeralda starts worrying a little, but shakes it off so Eli wouldn't get even more upset.

Then, an idea pops into Esmeralda's head, "You wanna get out of here? I know a place where we haven't been in forever. Are you willing to join me in my quest to find out what it is?" she jumps out of her chair, extending her arm out so Eli could grab it. Eli stares at her as if she was on drugs. She rolls her eyes, "Oh come on, I'm taking you whether you like it or not." She drags Eli out of the club and into her car as they drove off.

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><p><strong>ooh wonder where they're going? You'll soon find out! :D<strong>

**HINT* Its a place they used to go to when they were little to escape reality :) can you guess it?**

**Please Review! I will very much appreciate it :) thank you!**


	4. Chapter 4: Back Where We Belonged

**Hello again everyone :) well heres chapter 4! Something is going to happen thats gonna blow your mind! lol well idk blow your mind but something will happen! Well I just really hope your enjoying the story and i love getting reviews :) tell me your thoughts! what do you think about the story so far? Do you even like it? Do you think Eli should be with Clare? Just tell me your thoughts :D I also don't mind harsh criticism.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 4: Back Where We Belonged<strong>

"Where are you taking me?" Eli asks, suspiciously looking at his surroundings. Esmeralda smiles, trying to find the place she was heading. "Oh you'll see." She keeps driving, still trying to remember where she was going. They then arrive at an abandoned park that was over populated with trees and moss now. She places the car on park and turns the engine off. "Do you remember this place?" she asks, hoping he would.

Eli looks at it closely, then his eyes open wide. "Are you serious? This is the abandoned park we used to hang out at when we were six! How did you remember? I'm really stunned that you even remembered where it was." He tells her, still surprised by where he was. They exited the car and started walking inside the park. "How can I forget? This was our sanctuary when bad stuff would happen to us. I can never forget this place."

Esmeralda laughs, "I don't think we can ever forget this place." She starts to twirl around with the moon beating down on her. Eli stares at his best friend who was dancing in front of him. He couldn't help but smile at her enjoyment. He was happy to see her happy for once, it had been awhile since he's seen her like that. Ever since her break-up with her ex, she was taking it hard, just like he would. He knew the guy was cheating on her, but she just wouldn't listen to him.

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><p>"<em>Eli you're being ridiculous. Liam would never cheat on me. He says he loves me." Esmeralda tells Eli over the phone while she was making some food for her and her boyfriend that was visiting her from Canada. "Yes and I love hamburgers, but that doesn't mean anything. It's not real love Esmer. Please? You just gotta believe me." <em>

_Esmeralda stops what she was doing and leans on her kitchen counter. "Eli, you have to remember this. You over exaggerate a lot. I highly doubt Liam is cheating on me." She then hears her doorbell ring. "Oh speak of the devil. I'll call you later ok? Take care." She hangs up her cell phone and places it on counter._

_Eli grunts angrily and hangs his phone up as well. He got so upset that he threw his phone at his wall, and in the process it broke. "Dammit! Why doesn't she ever listen to me?" he starts breathing heavily and walks in circles around his room, which he could hardly do with his room being over crowded with junk that he doesn't want to throw away. Realizing he had no space to walk around in, he just sits back down on his bed and starts shaking his head repeatedly. "She's going to regret not listening to me."_

_Esmeralda was about to open the door until she heard Liam talking on the other side. She presses her ear up against it so she could hear better. "Don't worry baby, once I'm done here, I'm gonna take a plane straight back home so I can be with you. Ok talk to you later. Bye. I love you too." _

_Esmeralda started feeling her face turn red from embarrassment, not believing what she heard. She tried to calm herself down, trying to remember what her therapist had been telling her to do. She breathes in slowly and exhales the same way. She puts on a fake smile and slowly opens the door, revealing her boyfriends cheating face. Liam smiles wide when he saw her, "Hey baby! Ohh I've missed you soooo much."_

_Esmeralda stares at Liam with a are-you-freaking-kidding-me look. "Don't baby me. I heard your little conversation just a few seconds ago. So what's her name?" she questions, crossing her arms, leaning on the doorway. Liam started to get nervous, "I- I don't know what you're talking about babe." He replies, stuttering a bit. She started clapping, "Oh bravo Liam. You know how to play dumb. Well I'm not going to anymore. Goodbye Liam." She then closed the door in his face, feeling a part of her start to crumble._

"_Eli was right. How could I be so stupid!" Esmeralda hits the wall, making a very noticeable dent in it. She gets her cell-phone out and dials Eli's number. "Yes?" Eli replies with no emotion. "Eli…. I'm sorry." She apologizes, feeling as if she was about to cry. Eli sighs, feeling sympathetic. "It's ok Es. I forgive you."_

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><p>Eli shakes the memory away and limps towards Esmeralda. She stops when she sees Eli walk up to her; smiling that he was. He stops when he reaches a few centimeters away from her face. She looks up, staring into his emerald green eyes that gleam in the moonlight. He smirks his usual smirk, grabbing her, pulling her into a hug. She raises her eyebrows from confusion, "You ok Eli?" he nods his head while holding onto hers. "It's just been a long time since we've actually hugged like this. When was the last time we hugged like this?"<p>

Esmeralda smiles and hugs Eli back. "It had been awhile." He smiles happily, "You're a really good friend Esmeralda. You're more than a friend. You're my twin. Even if we have different taste in style." She lets out a giggle, "Of course. Someone has to be the girl here." He moves back, "Ouchh." He grins showing his perfectly white teeth. "Oh just keep hugging me." She demands jokingly.

After a few minutes of hugging in silence they finally released each other and started looking around the forest some more. While they were searching throughout the park, they came across old swing sets and rotten benches. "Oh wow, look Eli. Some of the stuff is still here." She touches the old rusty swing, leaving some of the residue on her fingertips. She wipes it away on her pants and continues walking.

Eli heads towards the old playground, looking around it. "Wow, I can't believe this old thing is still up. I thought it would've broken down by now." He hits the slide with his cane, and in the process, making it fall to the ground. Esmeralda looks back at him, who backs away from the debris. "Nice going Elijah." He faces her, "I didn't do it." He jokes, laughing while hitting the ruble on the floor with his good leg.

Esmeralda rolls her eyes, she then notices a darker area of the park and sees a trail leading into a forest. "Hmm." She starts walking to the trail curiously, but stops when Eli pulls on her wrist. "Where do you think you're going?" Eli asks, still holding onto her. She sighs tiredly, "Exploring. Duh?" he shakes his head, "No, no, no, no. You are definitely not going in there. Are you crazy? It's pitch black in there, how in the world are you going to know where you're going."

"My cell-phone." Esmeralda pulls it out and shows Eli. Eli arches his eyebrow, "Seriously?" she nods happily. "Come on Eli. What's the worst that can happen?" He looks at her with frustration, "With my luck, something will happen." She shakes her head, "There you go again being over dramatic. Come on." She pulls his hand now, dragging him into the forest. He starts to groan, "I'm gonna regret this." She just laughs, "It won't be that bad. I think we used to hang out there." she walks on the trail. "Yea when there was sun out." He points out.

Esmeralda moves a lot of tree branches out of the way so her and Eli could get through the place easily. "I'm starting to remember this place now." Eli agrees, "Yea, now that you mentioned it, so do I." She gazes around the area, "Remember when we came here one day because your parents were fighting like crazy and we decided to do some mythological role-playing." Eli chuckles at the memory, "How can I forget that day? You were a nymph and I was a vampire. How old were we? Seven? Man do the years go by." He limps to where Esmeralda stopped.

"Yea we were…" Esmeralda trails off when she came across something that caught her eye on the grassy ground. She kneels down on the floor to see what she saw. She moves the leaves aside and sees something shiny as she get closer to finding out what's on the floor. Her eyes widen in horror. Eli comes up behind her, curiously wondering what she found. "Whatcha got there Es?" she slowly moves her head to look up at him. "I think we found a murder weapon." She moves to the side to show Eli the bloody knife on the floor.

Eli's eyes widen as well, "Are you serious? I don't you something was going to happen."

"But nothing has happened. All we found was a knife." Esmeralda says casually.

"With someone's blood on it! Es, we need to leave. Now." Eli reaches for Esmeralda's arm and starts dragging her out of the forest. Esmeralda stops when she heard something crack behind them. "Did you hear that?" she whispers to him. He searches to see what made the noise, "It was probably an animal. Come one Esmeralda." He continues to drag her.

They start heading back to the car to get away whatever was in the park that left the knife there. Once they got closer to the car, something or someone was blocking their way to get to it.

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><p><strong>OMG :O who's that? a serial killer? or someone that they know or someone they're going to meet for the first time?<strong>

**Tell me who or what you think it is! :D Reviews are very much appreciated :) Thank You!**


	5. Chapter 5: Old Friends

**Hey Everyone, sorry i posted this one late, been busy -.- well anyways, hope you all enjoy this one!**

**I DON'T OWN DEGRASSI only my characters :)**

**Review please and thank you very much! :) oh and thank you to, 927natalie for your awesome Reviews, they really mean a lot to me :D**

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><p><strong>Chapter 5: Old Friends<strong>

"Eli… someone is blocking our way to the car." Esmeralda points out, starting to feel a bit anxious. Eli grabs her hand once more and made her go behind him. "Stay behind me. I wouldn't want something bad to happen to you."

"Oh yes, because I feel so safe behind a guy that has a broken leg." Esmeralda says underneath her breath, hopelessly. The shadow of the figure that was blocking the car was heading towards them now. They both felt each other's bodies tense up not knowing what to do. Then Eli decides to use his cane as a weapon. "Don't come near us! I have a… deadly weapon!" Esmeralda smacks her face, "We're doomed."

The figure started getting closer and closer. Esmeralda didn't want to stay scared so she gets her gun out, and points it at the assailant. "Don't get any closer! I have a gun!" She screams out. Eli's eyes widen a lot more when he saw the gun, "What the hell Esmeralda! When did you get a gun?" he shouts at her, shocked that his friend has a gun with her. "I got it back in California, and don't worry, I'm licensed to have one."

"Like that makes me feel anymore safe." Eli tells her sarcastically. Esmeralda ignores him, still pointing the gun at the person. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. There is no need for that, E." Says the shadow. Esmeralda raises her eyebrow when the person knew who she was. "Do you know that person Es?" Eli asks, looking at her strangely. She shakes her head, "Not that I know of."

"Eli, did you forget me too?" asks the person once again, knowing who Eli was. Eli looks at the shadow in confusion. "How does he know my name?" he whispers to Esmeralda, feeling a little frightened and weird out. "I really don't know…" she replies softly, still holding the gun tight in her hands. Then the person that was hiding in the shadows walks out to reveal himself. A guy with blue jeans, a black v-neck t-shirt, black Dr. Martins boots, with blonde wavy hair and sky blue eyes comes out. He looks to be at least twenty years old, maybe even nineteen, but Esmeralda knew right away who he was. She drops her gun while her mouth opens from shock.

"Kaleb? Is that you?" Esmeralda questions, strolling towards a very, very old friend that she hasn't seen in years. Eli's eyes widen, "Did you just say Kaleb? No, I highly doubt that its him Es." Kaleb looks at Eli and just laughs, "You were always a doubter Eli." Eli limps to him along with Esmeralda.

Esmeralda runs to Kaleb and jumps on him with joy. They both fall back on the hard ground, but it didn't matter to her because she was just happy to see their long lost friend, that disappeared on them two years before she moved to California. Eli stops when he sees his two friends on the floor hugging, still in disbelief that his friend came back.

Esmeralda couldn't stop hugging Kaleb but when she did she looks up at him and slaps him across the face. Eli winces when he heard the sound of it, "Ow." He comments under his breath. Kaleb holds onto his cheek as it turns red, and throbbing a little. "Oww!" was all he says. "You could've at least given me a heads up or something." This infuriated Esmeralda.

"Well _you_ could've given us a heads up when you were going to leave! You had us worried sick when you never showed up to explore with us here!" Esmeralda points at the park behind her angrily. Kaleb sighs, "I had to leave." Eli limps to her and puts his hand on her shoulder. "Give the kid a break Es. He probably had some stuff going on, and it is none of our business to know what it is."

Kaleb moves his arm to where its facing Eli, "See! Eli gets it." Esmeralda crosses her arms, looking at him with annoyance written across her face. Kaleb raises up from where he was and pulls her into another tight hug. She blushes a deep red, giving into his hug. Eli felt a little uncomfortable with their moment and fake coughs so he could get their attention. They both release, blushing at the same time.

"Wait, what are you doing here? Was it you that left that bloody knife in the forest?" Eli questions, limping closer to where Kaleb and Esmeralda were. Kaleb looks back at him in confusion. "Bloody knife? I didn't leave anything that has to do with a knife or blood anywhere." Eli and Esmeralda give each other a scared look. "I'm guessing we should go then. Before something bad happens to us." Esmeralda suggest while both Kaleb and Eli nod their heads in agreement. The three of them got inside Esmeralda's car and drove off.

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><p>"So where do you live now Kaleb? And how long have you been here before you found us?" Esmeralda asks curiously, still concentrating on driving.<p>

"And how did you even know we were there to begin with?" Eli questions, slightly creeped out. "Whoa, that's a lot of questions. Well for starters, I just bought a small condo not to far from here and I barely came back a couple of months ago. Oh and I just remembered us coming here when we were kids so I just decided to take a short visit. I didn't know you guys were even there."

"Weird. Oh gosh, it's getting late. I should be dropping you off already Eli. Kaleb show me where you live so I can drop you off as well." Esmeralda spots the time, 11:30 p.m., she didn't want Eli to get in trouble with Bullfrog. Kaleb leans on top of the seats, pointing straight ahead. "It's going to be on the left on the upcoming street."

Once Esmeralda came across the street, she turns and Kaleb points at the beige color condo to their right. "Right here." She stops and unlocks her doors. "Well see you guys later." As Kaleb was about to get out Esmeralda stops him, "Hey! Give me your number. We need to catch up on things. What is it?" Kaleb smirks. "783-9087. Call me ok?" she inputs the number on her phone and saves the contact. She looks back at him and nods.

"Of course!" Esmeralda says enthusiastically. "See ya, Eli. And tell me what happened to your leg next time we meet up." Eli frowns a little, "Yea. I will." Kaleb waves goodbye and closes the door behind him. Esmeralda moves her hand to grab Eli's; she strokes it with her thumb, trying to make him feel a little better. "You don't have to tell him. Just lie." Eli slowly nods his head. "You're right. That's Es." She smiles at him. "No prob. Come on, lets get you home before your dad starts throwing a fit."

Eli agrees, "Yes please. But can you stay over? They would be really ecstatic to see a familiar face they haven't seen in a while." He begs a little. Esmeralda gives him an unsure look, "Well I have all these plans to do and well…" she pauses for a bit, teasing him with making him wait for her decision. "Ok, ok I'll stay for this night. And maybe some more nights after that one." She jokes, but being serious at the same time. He smiles once more. "Thanks Esmer."

"Anytime Eli." Esmeralda ruffles his hair and takes off to his house.

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><p>"Thanks for letting me stay over Bullfrog. I thought that with what happened four years ago, you wouldn't let me stay over anymore." Esmeralda thanks Eli's dad, while she finishes up her food from her plate that his mom, Cece, made. "Of course! Anything for a familiar face, and don't worry about that, the past is the past. Is this gonna be a permanent thing or is it just for tonight? Because you are welcome anytime Esmeralda."<p>

"Oh thank you so much, but that won't be necessary. I already have a place of my own when I got here. Its nearby Degrassi. I just wanted to stay for tonight because Eli wanted me too." Esmeralda explains, smiling at Eli who was sitting in front of her, eating as well and smiles back at her. Cece places her hand on top of Esmeralda's, "Well you are welcome back anytime Esmeralda. Maybe you can help Eli out, if you don't mind" she whispers the last part so Eli couldn't hear her.

Esmeralda nods her head, "Of course Cece. After all that has happened, I want to be here to help him get through it, since we know how he gets when he's in _that _mood." Cece smiles a sincere smile to her, "Thank you so much Esmeralda." She then gives Esmeralda a hug across s the table. Eli raises an eyebrow, "What are you two lovely ladies talking about?" he sweet talks to the both of them. "None of your business." Esmeralda jokes.

"Very funny Es. May we be excused?" Eli asks his parents as the both of the agreed. "Come on Esmer." He grabs Esmeralda by the hand and takes her to his room. "Whoa, whoa cowboy. Slow down there. Is it safe to go in there?" she stops him when they reach the front of his door. "That's what I wanted to show you. Look." He opens his door and inside reveals a de-cluttered room from the last time she was there. Her eyes open wide, "Oh wow Eli. Its, clean, and neatly organized. H-how?"

Eli frowns a bit, "Clare helped me." Esmeralda feels awkward, "Ohh. Well good for you. You finally got over Julia. I'm sp proud of you Eli." He smiles when he sees her walking up to him to give him a hug. "Thanks Es." She releases their embrace, "Now I actually have room to sleep on the floor now." She jokes, as she gets a couple of blankets from his closet and places them on the floor.

"Here." Eli throws a pillow at her and she grabs it in time before it hit her face. "Thank you." Esmeralda thanks him and places it on the floor. Eli once more throws something at her. She grabs it and looks what he threw at her. "Are these my old pajamas? You still have these?" she asks in disbelief. He smirks, "Well yea. I didn't want to throw them out because I thought, what if you came back. What clothes would you have if you wanted to spend the night."

Esmeralda nods her head and smiles, "Thanks Eli, but I don't know if these will even fit me. It has been four years and I've grown since then." Eli slowly nods, "True." He then turns around and looks inside his drawers and pulls out pajama pants and a loose black t-shirt. "Here. You can borrow this for now." She gets the clothes, more satisfied with it. "Thank you, again." She heads to the bathroom and changes out of her clothes and into Eli's pajamas.

"Ok I am ready for bed!" Esmeralda jumps out excitedly, scaring the crap of out Eli. "What the hell Es?" He shouts a little, holding onto his chest. "Oh stop being a baby. Come on, we have school tomorrow. We have to get to bed, and I don't wanna miss another day ok?" she sits on the floor and lays down, moving to her side and sees Eli taking his shirt off. She blinks a couple of times and turns on her other side. "It would've been nice for you to go change else where." She complains, slightly blushing a bit.

Eli smirks while putting a shirt on, "Oh be quiet. It's not the first time you've seen me like this." Esmeralda hits her face, "Don't remind me." He laughs, taking off his cast so he could take his pants off and change into his pajama pants as well. Once he did, he felt pain rush through his leg to his body. He tried not to make a sound because he knew if he did, he would worry Esmeralda. He places his cast back on and gets into his bed.

"Are you done?" Esmeralda jokes. "Yup." Eli states, pulling the blanket over him, as he turns the side as well to face her. She turns also and looks up to see Eli looking down at her. "This brings back memories." She whispers softly to him, hoping he would hear her. He smiles, "Yea… it does. Come on, lets get to bed already, remember?" he reminds her. She agrees, "You're right. Goodnight Elijah." He lays on his back and smiles, "Goodnight Esmeralda."

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><p><strong>wat did you think? leave a review letting me know or a PM giving me your opinion and what not :) hope you all enjoyed this!<strong>

**(and i know, Eli without a shirt is dead sexy, of course, why would Esmeralda wanna look away from that? lol)**

**there will be more to come and who knows, maybe some drama/jealousy coming along with a certain someone, dating someone!**

**dun dun DUN! lol well that's all i am going to say! until next time ;)**


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